


Situation Report

by Kate_The_Linguist_55



Category: Sleepless Domain (Webcomic)
Genre: AU, Gen, Isekai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:35:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27455065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kate_The_Linguist_55/pseuds/Kate_The_Linguist_55
Summary: Cassidy isn't dead, she just ended up in a sci-fi universe.
Kudos: 12





	Situation Report

Cassidy crouched behind the wall of the ruined building, carefully raising her head to glance through what, she presumed, was once a window. Inside, amongst the broken concrete and steel stood a ring of hooded figures, each carrying a single candle made from red wax. In the middle of the circle, slumped and lifeless, was a great machine in the form of some long-dead being, dwarfing the surrounding figures.

She considered her options. There was no guarantee that whatever ritual the cultists were about to perform would have any effect, in which case all she needed to do was observe and report back. But if they did somehow revive the construct the results could be potentially devastating. But if she made the first move and the oversight committee decided that she’d incorrectly assessed the level of threat, then at best she’d be suspended from duty, and at worst…

She could hardly bear to sit back and let them get up to whatever nefarious deeds they had planned, but regulations needed to be followed nonetheless. As she watched, the red robed figure, most likely the leader, selected two of the assembled cultists, led them up to the construct, and drew a curved dagger from their cloak.

Human sacrifice was reason enough to intervene, she thought. Picking up the disruptor rifle they’d insisted she bring, she loaded a stun grenade into the attached grenade launcher. Ought to even the odds a little.

A green flash, and most of the cultists dropped to the floor. Four left. As the remaining cultists drew weapons, Cassidy split and made to enter the ruin. The cultists were poor shots but managed to drop Orange anyway. Still, she’d done her job, and given Cream time to get close. Cassidy split again, and got stuck in with her blades. The cultists, taken by surprise, didn’t last long.

Satisfied, she reunited, only to see, to her horror, that the leader had somehow come to faster than expected and plunged a ceremonial dagger into both offerings before she had a chance to react. He looked at her, and laughed.

Blue light surged through the construct. It creaked upright, its movements still stiff, raising what looked like a head, and uttered an inhuman scream. The leader’s hideous cackle was cut short as the ancient machine extended an arm and tossed them into the ruin’s wall like a ragdoll.

This was not good.

Think fast, analyse the situation, look for potential weaknesses. She split again: one half to keep the thing’s attention while the other found a way to take it out before it could harm anyone else. Orange took cover to watch how the machine moved as it tried to bat at Cream with its enormous claws. Its armour looked practically impenetrable, at least with the tools Cassidy had at her disposal.

But look: there seemed to be a loose plate on its back. If she could slide a blade under there, that might just do it. She had Cream tempt it to turn away from Orange, who ran straight at it as fast as she could.

Slam.

Cream came apart, and Cassidy felt herself become one again. But she was almost there. She leapt onto the back of the machine, seemingly out of its reach, and scrambled up, grasping at the protruding structures studding its carapace. Reaching the loose plate she’d spotted, she rammed her scissors into the gap with as much force as she could muster.

It was enough. The construct gave a bloodcurdling scream, and collapsed forward. The lights flickered for a moment, then went out.

This would certainly make for an interesting report.


End file.
